There are always loads of headphones to review over the course of the year, released by a range of different manufacturers — and one of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to look over my testing bench and see what headphones and earbuds I liked testing with the most.
This year in particular there have been some big releases, from the likes of Sony, Apple, and Bose — but I’ve only got space for four entries in the list. Why? Because I wanted to highlight the very best headphones and best wireless earbuds I reviewed. So, which headphones did I like testing the most this year, and why do I think they are so important to the headphone world as a whole? Let’s take a look.
My favorite headphones: Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones
When Bose announced its new QuietComfort headphones, the sequel to the divisive Noise canceling 700 headphones, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My experience with the previous model, which liked to play loud static every five minutes or so, told me to be wary. But then I saw the pictures of the headphones, and I was tentatively excited.
The QuietComfort Ultra headphones looked like they might be a return to form for the brand, bringing back the folding chassis and clean look of the venerable QC45. It was only when they arrived in my hands that I not only breathed a great sigh of relief, but my excitement was rekindled. The hardcase: Excellent. The padding on the cans: Top-notch. The look? We are back baby, and Bose is at the top of its game again.
If my excitement for the headphones was at an all-time peak at that point, it was putting them on that sent me into space with an ANC-powered rocket ship. I pressed the power button, got them paired up with my phone and started rocking out. Then I discovered that someone downstairs had been trying to get my attention for the last five minutes. How would I know? I couldn’t hear anything. The ANC had blocked out the noise of my surroundings, including the person trying to tell my that my toast had finished cooking.
Since then, the QuietComfort Ultra have become my go-to headphones for wearing on the go. Quick bus journey? QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Long car journey? QuietComfort Ultra headphones. Trip on the train? You guessed it — QuietComfort Ultra headphones. The noise canceling on board really is second to none, and it makes them the only pair of headphones to buy if you want to block out noise.
They're the only pair of headphones to buy if you want to block out noise.
The rest of the ensemble is excellent of course. They sound great, they’re immaculately comfortable thanks to their light weight and stunning padding, and they look premium with some lovely material quality.
There are a couple of hitches. The battery life isn’t amazing at 24 hours, and Bose’s version of Spatial Audio could be better. They balance of price and performance can't be beat, and these are the best noise canceling headphones you can buy, and they are easily my favorite headphone release of the year.
My favorite earbuds: Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds
The QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are to earbuds what the QuietComfort Ultra headphones were to over-ear cans. The only real exception here is that I didn’t really know what to think about the earbuds when I first got them. "How will anything ever get the AirPods Pro 2 out of my ears? Nothing has done it yet, I don’t think these will." Oh, how wrong I was.
Bose is known for its ANC, and the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds prove why — they are the best noise canceling earbuds you can buy right now. From the moment I popped them into my ears I was immediately impressed with the amount of noise that they were capable of blocking, as the clickety-clack of my keyboard melted away, and the traffic outside my window disappeared.
Thanks to a combination of excellent ANC implementation and one of the best seals I’ve seen in a pair of earbuds, the Bose manage to outperform all the other ANC earbuds that lie around my room. My AirPods Pro 2? They're in a drawer now.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds managed to fight off some tough competition too. There was the much-lauded and anticipated AirPods 4, although I didn’t feel those did quite enough to bring me on board. Then there where the Sony LinkBuds Fit, which where a solid pair of earbuds that had a couple of drawbacks. The Bose Ultra Open got very close, but I’m not a massive fan of the non-sealing form factor. The QuietComfort Ultra earbuds managed to make me sit back, take stock of the situation, and then give them a permanent spot on my desk.
My AirPods Pro 2? They're in a drawer now.
They’re not perfect, of course. While the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds battery life is fine at 6 hours from the buds and 24 from the case, you can’t charge them wirelessly. There’s no multipoint connection as you might find on like, every other offering from the competition, and the case does feel a little plasticky. But when I put them in my ears, the ANC kicks in and the music starts playing in my own little private music world, I remember why I love them some much — and why they are my favorite pair of earbuds in 2024.
Tammy’s Indulgence pick: Noble Fokus Apollo
In a perfect world, where price doesn’t matter, the Noble Fokus Apollo would be my favorite pair of headphones not just of 2024, but of all my time testing headphones. I love them. I love the way that they look, the way that the feel on my head, the extra little bag of accessories that comes in the case, and I love the large and extremely protective case they come packaged with. They are sublime — but sublime does come at a cost.
The Apollo cost $649, and while I’d say they are well worth the price, that’s still a lot of money to ask for a pair of headphones. But when they sound this good thanks to their unique hybrid driver setup, the price starts to make sense. I can’t in good conscience put them at the top of my lists because of that high price — but they might be the best pair of wireless headphones that I’ve tested so far.
The runner-up: Sonos Ace
The Sonos Ace are not a perfect pair of headphones. They cost just a bit too much; they don’t work with other Sonos gear as well as we’d hoped; and the case gets dusty and grimy as soon as you pull it from the box. But. In an environment where I almost always leave the Spatial Audio options of every other pair of headphones permanently in the ‘off’ position, the Sonos Ace showed me that spatial audio can not only work well, but be genuinely impressive.
They manage to add more space to well-mixed Spatial Audio tracks unlike any other pair of headphones that I’ve tested. They sound great, and they are comfortable as well — the Sonos Ace might not quite reach the heady heights of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, but they definitely deserve an honorable mention.
